The Foundations of Family Life Education Model: Understanding the Field

Abstract

Implementation of family life education (FLE) can positively influence individual and family well‐being by helping families to help themselves. However, because the nature of FLE is not widely understood, a comprehensive model highlighting and integrating fundamentals of the practice is needed. The foundations of family life education model (FFLE) is a visual illustration that incorporates foundational principles of FLE with changes in culture, context, content, practice, and family well‐being across time. In addition to the visual representation of core concepts defining FLE and their relationship with each other, the model provides a unique conceptualization by reframing the frequently referenced 10 content areas as concepts within the content, context, and practice of the field. The creation of a graphic identity for the practice of FLE can offer greater clarity and understanding regarding the nature of FLE, thereby increasing opportunities for implementation and best practices.

Toward a Framework for Military Family Life Education: Culture, Context, Content, and Practice

“…Currently, there are several existing programs that already have a place in supporting military members and families. Discussing these examples serves to support the practice dimension of the Darling et al's (, in press) framework. We also bring into the discussion current resources aligned with military FLE because many of these resources, and the organizations that sponsor them, are focused on matters relevant for FLE practice.…”

“…Its main purpose is to suggest implications that inform a military FLE framework (in effect, a structure and plan). We have also discussed the Darling et al (, in press) FLE framework of culture, context, content, and practice and link our concluding remarks along those lines (see below). The factors and findings column of the table is pulled from the article text, whereas the implications column summarizes the meaning we attach to those factors and findings.…”

“…FLE has a rich history of program development and a substantial focus on how to effectively deliver programs to families. We discuss two overarching FLE frameworks that provide an important backdrop for this article on military families, one being the content areas of the Certified Family Life Educator program of the National Council on Family Relations and the other created by FLE scholars (Darling, Cassidy, & Rehm, ; in press). This latter framework is referred to throughout this article because it aligns with our more targeted framework.…”

Preparing the Educators Who Teach About Families: Engaging Family Science in the University Setting

“…Teaching about families, then, incorporates the disciplinary‐specific focus of family life education historically affiliated with HDFS programs in what were once schools of home economics or human ecology (e.g., Allen et al, ; Darling, Cassidy, & Rehm, ; Ganong, Coleman, & Demo, ), but family science pedagogy is also much broader than the philosophy and practice of family life education as a professional domain (Allen & Henderson, ; Gavazzi, Wilson, Ganong, & Zvonkovic, ; Trask, Marotz‐Baden, Settles, Gentry, & Berke, ). As Kerckhoff () explained more than half a century ago in one of the earliest conceptualizations of family life education, the effort to study and improve family life in an increasingly complex society was born out of concern with “social–cultural upheavals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries [including] radical changes in the roles of women, in occupational and economic behavior, and in the whole industrialization–urbanization movement” (p. 881).…”

Competency Alignment and Certification for Preservice Home Visitors

“…These principles formed the foundation for the Framework for Lifespan Family Life Education (Bredehoft, ). In the 21st century, these principles of FLE have been firmly sorted into foundational principles (education, prevention, strengths‐based approach, a foundation in research and theory) and operational principles (culture, context, content, practice) (Darling, Cassidy, & Rehm, , ). These principles are important to the FLE field and CFLE endorsement and would support the training and work of current and future home visitors.…”